snegel

Old English

Alternative forms

• snæġl, snæġel, sneġl, snǣl, snēl

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *snagilaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsne.jel/

Noun

sneġel m

1. a snail or slug, a gastropod
   • Exeter Book, Riddle 40

     mē is snæġl swiftra, snelra reġnwyrm
     ond fenȳċe fōre hreþre

     A snail is swifter than I, an earthworm faster,
     and a tortoise moves quicker

Usage notes

• Like its modern Germanic cognates (German Schnecke, Icelandic snigill, Swedish snigel), this word referred to both snails and slugs. Ælfric lists the word for a snail in particular as ġehūsod sneġel (literally “housed snail”). No word for a slug in particular is attested; if one existed, it may have been *unġehūsod sneġel, or *nacod sneġel like German Nacktschnecke (literally “naked snail”), or something else.

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	sneġel	sneġlas
accusative	sneġel	sneġlas
genitive	sneġles	sneġla
dative	sneġle	sneġlum

Hyponyms

• weoloc

Derived terms

• ġehūsod sneġel
• reġnsneġel
• sǣsnæġl

Descendants

• Middle English: snayl, snail, snawile, snayle, sneile, sneyle (Late Middle English), snyle, snyll (late Northern), snele (Catholicon Anglicum)
  • English: snail
  • Scots: snail